Midnight Song
by deathmakesapoet
Summary: [AU Fic] Eren is born with a skin disease that causes sunlight to be lethal to him. He lives his entire life in darkness, waking in the night and sleeping through the day. It's a lonely existence, and the only thing that keeps him sane is his music. His condition is his wall, but one fateful night, he meets the girl who will free him from his cage forever. [Mikaere]
1. Track 1

**A/N :****So, this is my little side-project to satisfy my need to write Mikaere romance as well as to provide myself with more writing practice. My main fic is Tears of a Titan, which is also Mikaere, but since I'm following the serious and dark tone of the manga with that fic, it's going to be a while before there's any explicit romance in that story. Too many characters to develop, too many themes and sub-plots to explore, which is fun in its own right, but I need Mikasa and Eren love NOW. :P So this will be my outlet for that. This story won't be very long, as I don't want to divide my attention between the two fics for too long. **

**I borrowed the basic premise of this story from the movie 'Taiyou no Uta' a.k.a. 'Midnight Sun'.**

**Music is going to be a an important part of this story. I'm gonna name each chapter after a song. Who knows, maybe you'll like the music I listen to? :)**

**This first song is by Carissa's Wierd, my second favorite band of all time. You didn't read it wrong, they spelled it as 'Wierd' on purpose.**

* * *

**Track 1 ****- Halfway Spoken Heart That Finds Comfort in Everything Until it Disappears Then it's Gone **

For most people, the day begins in the morning and ends at night.

But not for Eren Jaeger.

The alarm clock at his bedside rang at 8:45 p.m. on what was to be the most important night of his life, though he did not know it at the time. To him, it was just like every other night : cold, dark, and lonely. All over town, people were having their dinners, preparing to wind down the day and wait for the next one. But Eren had only just woken up, or rather, been woken up by that infernal contraption beside him. Still half-asleep, he reached his hand out to switch it off, blindly feeling for it with pale, clammy fingers. He accidentally pushed it over the side of the end-table instead, sending the device falling onto the floor with a loud clang.

"God dammit," Eren mumbled as he forced himself up from his bed. The clock continued to cry out annoyingly as he stumbled towards it, like some puny human screaming helplessly in the face of an approaching titan. Grabbing the poor victim in his hands, he killed it off by pushing the snooze button on the top of its head, silencing it. The ringing in the room stopped, but the noise in his skull didn't. Massaging his aching head with one hand, he walked over to the window and pulled the specially made reflective window blinds up. He felt a winter wind blow into the room as he gazed out into the town. At night, the lights from hundreds of buildings dotted the dark landscape, a sub-par imitation of the starry sky above, yet beautiful in its own way. That was his world : dark and peaceful, yet lonely. So unbearably lonely.

Of course, he didn't have the time to contemplate his miserable existence. He had a gig to get to. As quickly as he could, Eren went through his 'morning rituals' : brushing his teeth, getting dressed and making himself a sandwich with plain margarine (jams were a luxury that he usually only indulged in every once in a while). Being a struggling musician wasn't exactly a glamorous lifestyle, but he managed to scrape by. The only things of any real value that he owned were his guitar, his phone which he used mainly as a music player, and his earphones. Sound quality was the one thing that he would never compromise, regardless of how many days he had to starve to save up the money for it. Because to him, music was everything. Only music could keep the silence at bay.

He was feeling a little sluggish tonight, and it took him a lot longer than he normally did to get ready. Realizing that he was going to be late if he didn't hurry up, Eren quickly swallowed the last bite of his rather plain sandwich and grabbed his guitar from his room. His apartment wasn't very big, with just a small living space that doubled as a kitchen, a narrow bedroom and a bathroom that needed some serious cleaning.

Outside his home, he ran into Mr. Hannes who was returning from work.

"Eren! Got a show tonight?" he asked the moment he saw the guitar-bearing boy.

"Yeah," Eren replied, giving the older man a wide berth. He could smell the stench of alcohol in his breath and it disgusted him. "You're drunk, aren't you? Figures."

"What's wrong with a little drink at the end of a long day? I put in a long shift at the site today, and the sun was hot as holy hell! I just decided to cool myself off with a beer or two, that's all! You're lucky that you don't have to face that giant fireball in the sky!" Hannes exclaimed, his face as red as a beet root.

"Whatever. I've gotta go, old man. Stop drinking yourself to death!" Eren said angrily before storming down the cramped hallway towards the elevators.

"Wait a minute, Eren! Hey, I didn't mean that," the drunkard called out to the seething young man, realizing too late that what he had said was unintentionally hurtful. Unfortunately, the boy never heard his neighbor's apologetic words, so quickly did he enter one of the open elevators and closed the doors behind him.

Once outside the building, Eren took his maroon colored scarf out of his bag and wrapped it around his face before heading off in the direction of town at a brisk pace. His flat was just a fifteen minute walk away from the entertainment district where the bistro he was supposed to play at was, so he could still make it if he hurried. It was windy tonight, the biting cold chipping away at his skin mercilessly as he made his way towards the bridge that separated his side of town from the side that he was going to. It was cold, but he barely felt it, so preoccupied he was with Hannes' words.

_Damn that old_ man, he thought as he had a real love-hate relationship with his drink-loving elder, though he probably wouldn't admit to having any love for the man. Living directly opposite to him, it was inevitable that they would bump into each other often. Loathe as he was to admit it, Hannes was probably the closest thing to a real friend that he had. The man was good natured and kind enough, though very irresponsible and too much of an alcoholic for Eren's liking. He always felt bitter that people who didn't have to suffer his curse would waste their lives away with booze and other pointless activities. Even so, Hannes was probably the only man he'd trust in an emergency. Not that they were close, _per se_. They barely ever interacted with each other outside of the times when they crossed paths in the hallway.

Hannes' drunkenness wasn't what made him angry though. It was his clumsy words, spoken so carelessly. The old man probably didn't mean it, but Eren never liked being reminded of his condition. Ever since he was born, he suffered from a disease called _xeroderma pigmentosum_, or XP. It was a skin condition that made the ultraviolet rays of the sun potentially lethal to him. This was his wall. A wall that separated him from the normal life that he so desperately craved. He'd lived his life in the darkness for as long as he could remember, and friends were hard to come by in the dead of night. Sure, he could still meet people, but being nocturnal wasn't exactly conducive to making long-lasting friendships. Coupled with his overly blunt personality, Eren's life inevitably became a lonely one. That was why he tried to lose himself in his music. Because in the cold, cold night, no one was there to chase away the silence.

But that was his life, and he had to accept it whether he liked it or not. And so, he forgot all of that for the moment and arrived at the bistro just in time to perform his set. It was a modest crowd, and they barely even paid any attention to him, most of them more focused on their food and conversation than the young man serenading them with a variety of pop songs on stage. Not that Eren liked pop songs. He listened to a wide variety of genres, but pop was one of his least favorite. Pop sells though, so he had to perform such songs if he wanted to make a living. He was lucky to even get a gig. Most nights he had to busk around the entertainment district, which made for a pretty unstable source of revenue.

So, he did his work at the bistro, got paid, and then he went busking for some extra cash. Of course, those were not the things that made this the most important night in his life. It was on his way back home that night when he encountered an event that would change his life forever. Normally, he would have had his earphones on, blasting his favorite music as he walked home to escape the sunrise, but he'd left them at home, so he had to content himself with the sound of crickets as he approached the bridge he'd taken on the way into town.

Some distance from the bridge, the sound of a crying girl pierced the quiet. Eren looked up to see a silhouette balancing precariously atop the hand-rail of the bridge.

"Holy- What do you think you're doing?" he exclaimed, running up to the girl, though he didn't go right up to her for fear of causing her to dive into the freezing waters of the river below.

The girl didn't answer him. She didn't even look his way. All she did was cry as she rocked back and forth ever so slightly on her dangerous perch, completely disregarding Eren's presence.

"Hey! Answer me!" Eren said, a little more firmly than most people would have dared when faced with such a situation.

There was a short pause before she finally started to say something. "It's just so hard," she muttered between sobs, her whole body trembling violently in the face of the cold winter winds.

_She must be freezing, _Eren thought when he noticed that she was only wearing a simple blouse and a long dress.

"What's so hard?" he asked, inching a little closer to her in as subtle a fashion as he could so that he could try and grab her if things went awry.

"I want them back. Mom... dad... The world. It's so callous. So cruel," she continued tearfully. Eren noticed that she had a strange accent that he couldn't really decipher because of her crying. It seemed Asian. Japanese, maybe?

Eren wanted to feel sympathy for her, but instead, he felt somewhat annoyed. Perhaps it was a result of living such a lonely life for so many years, but he always felt that people who chose to commit suicide were not deserving of pity. Just like the blackboard nights dotted with chalk stars that he lived under, his world was black and white in the extreme. People who chose the coward's way out were just that, to him. Cowards. Unappreciative of their lives that were free from the restrictions that he was unfairly placed under. Of course, he'd never actually met someone on the verge of ending their own life, so he didn't know what he'd truly feel if he actually found himself in such a situation. He knew that he didn't want to see the girl die – he wasn't a monster, after all – but he couldn't help but feel irritated by her weakness.

"So you're just going to kill yourself?" Eren yelled, his tone a frustrated one. "You're going to kill yourself just because your life is hard? It's a good thing that I'm not you then, cos then I'd have killed myself the moment I was fucking born!"

Startled by his sudden outburst, the young girl turned to look at him, showing Eren her face for the first time. Her skin was pale from being out in the cold for so long, and her cheeks were stained with tears, but she was a very pretty girl, and he couldn't tell if it was his outrage at her apparent desire to commit suicide or her attractiveness that was making his face red with heat. He suspected that it was a little bit of both. Her hair was jet black and long, a perfect match for the flowing dress that she wore, and her eyes were a dull grey, yet in the moonlight, they shined with a strange brilliance that Eren had never seen before in his life. He didn't know for sure, but her features seemed somewhat Asian to him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Eren cut her off with his own words.

"Don't you think your parents would be sad if you went and offed yourself? Don't you think it's such a waste you just throw your whole life away when there are others who couldn't live a normal life even if they wanted to? If life wants to fuck with you, then fight!"

"Fight?" the girl said, her voice quivering as she tried to stop her sobbing.

"Yes! Fight! If you don't fight, you don't stand a single chance to win!" Eren continued, raising his voice as he did so. "There's so much left in this world for you! If you don't fight, then you're just throwing that all away! I can't lead a normal life, but you can! So you better fucking fight to survive, or I'm gonna be pissed, cos you'll be throwing away everything I've always wanted!"

Dumbfounded, the girl simply stared at this strange young man. Why was he getting angry at her for wanting to throw her own life away? Why did it matter to him? And yet, his fiery words had calmed her. She had stopped crying.

"So, are you going to get down from there or what? Um-" he said, a bit more gently this time now that he'd gotten the anger out of his system. It was only then that he suddenly realized how nervous being near the girl made him.

"Mikasa," she said, finally getting down from the railing. She didn't dare look him in the eyes. All she did was stare at her feet, unsure of what to do next.

"Yeah," Eren replied, somewhat at a loss as to what to say. The silence that ensued was awkward, to say the least. It felt like ages since he'd last talked to a girl alone like this. To his surprise, he noticed that his heart was beating at an outrageously fast pace as he approached the girl. He felt his body tense up as he stood before her, and when she suddenly sneezed without warning, he almost jumped out of his socks.

"You must be really cold," he said, taking his scarf off and wrapping it around the shivering girl's neck. "Here. My mom made it for me. Well, I mean, she's dead now, but- Um, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that."

"No, it's okay," Mikasa said, her cheeks turning a bright shade red as she looked up and met his gaze. She felt her heart shut down for a second when she saw his strong and determined eyes, emerald green orbs that shined brilliantly in the warm twilight.

_Twilight._

Eren wanted to say more to the girl, but his breath caught in his throat when he noticed the yellow and orange glint of sunlight peeking over the horizon.

"Oh, fuck," he muttered under his breath, an expression of dread washing over his features. He immediately turned around and made a break for home.

"Wait!" Mikasa cried. "Your scarf!"

"Keep it!" Eren yelled back as he ran off.

"Wait!" she called out as she tried to chase after him, but he was running too fast for her. "What's your name?" she yelled, but he was already out of earshot.

* * *

Eren made it back into the safety of his building in the nick of time. A few seconds later and he'd have been exposed to the sunlight. He was doubled over at the lobby, panting heavily, when he ran into Hannes again.

"What's wrong, boy? Owe people money?" he joked when he saw the exhausted boy.

"More like I nearly died," Eren replied, not really in the mood for his humor.

"Same thing, isn't it?" Hannes said with a light chuckle. "Hey, listen. About last night, I-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Go to work man, I can take care of myself."

With a sigh, the older man placed a hand on Eren's shoulder and squeezed it before leaving him to go to work.

When Eren got back to his apartment, he immediately dropped all his stuff on the floor and pulled out a book from his backpack. It was his very own little inspiration journal, where he would scribble any ideas or just anything that inspired him in general, be it dialogue from a movie, lines from a poem, or lyrics from a song, besides his own original work.

Flipping to a blank page, he pulled out a pencil and put it to the paper, only to realize that he didn't know what to write. Eren put the book and the writing utensil down on his desk and took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. He'd nearly died not too long ago, but all he could think about right now was Mikasa.

_Damn it, why did the sun have to come up just then? Fuck. I hope she's alright. What if she went and jumped anyway after I left?_

His fingers reached instinctively for his neck to pull his scarf off, only to feel the bare skin of his throat. _That's right! She still has my scarf!_

It may be hard to believe, but Eren had never felt more helpless due to his disease than at that particular moment. He wanted so badly to run out and look for the girl, but he was trapped. In the daytime, his home was like his prison : four walls separating him from the outside world. So he sat there alone, and for the first time in a long while, he found himself hoping for someone to come and break him out. He thought that he'd learned to give up on hope long ago, but the feeling came to him unbidden. With a whole plethora of emotions racing through his head in a chaotic jumble, he decided to listen to some music to collect his thoughts, quickly fishing his earphones out of his bedside drawer. Putting the music player on shuffle, a _Carissa's Wierd_ song came up, fitting his mood perfectly.

'_Hoping that the warmth of snow will bring comfort with its grey,'_ sang the singer in the song, the softness of his voice enchanting in its overt melancholy. '_F__alse light will glow from the lamp. I will shade to hide your pale face.'_

The song chased the silence away from the room, filling Eren with calmness as he closed his eyes to absorb every bit of it. This was his element. Music, the medium of emotion. Every beat on the snare, every note on the guitar riff, every word and every syllable that the singer uttered. To him, this was the only thing that made sense in the world.

Opening his eyes, Eren picked up his pencil and wrote the date on the blank page : _4th of August_._  
_

He stopped a moment to think before writing on the paper.

_A halfway spoken  
heart, caught in the winter night.  
Mikasa, her name._

It was a haiku, short and sweet. He didn't even know whether he had spelled her name correctly or not, but it was his effort to capture the moment while it was still white hot his memory. He sincerely hoped that Mikasa was alright, but there was nothing he could do to know for sure. Resigned, he put his things away and got into his bed, too tired to stay awake any longer. His life was hard enough without having to worry about some suicidal stranger, so he tried to push it out of his mind as he started to drift off to sleep, but try as he may, it was an event which he wouldn't forget for as long as he lived. It was the most important night of his life, after all, though he didn't know it yet.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review. :D**


	2. Track 2

**A/N: At last, chapter 2! Hope y'all will enjoy it. :) And if you do, I really really really hope you will check out my main fic, 'Tears of a Titan'! It's also Mikaere, but a much more serious fic that keeps in line with the tone of the SnK manga. I try to develop as many of the characters as I can in that story, and I explore various themes and sub-plots. Honestly, I've just put a lot of effort into that story (well, I've put effort into this one as well, of course, but nowhere near as much as for that one) and I really want people to read it! So, if you've read this fic and haven't read 'Tears of a Titan', I really implore you to read it! For me? ;) Please? So far I've managed to update that fic once a week on Saturday for the past 3 or 4 chapters, so like, that's a good thing, isn't it? Hehe.**

**Well, anyway, without further ado, Chapter 2 of 'Midnight Song'. :D**

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**Track 2 - Kurenai**

"Give me another round. Come on, you pussy, punch like a real woman," Keith Shadis exclaimed, holding up the punch training gloves in front of him. Not one to hold back no matter the situation, Mikasa unleashed a barrage of strikes at him, hitting the gloves with brutal force and accuracy. "That's more like it! You're going to win. You hear me? Anything less and you're food for the dogs! Understand?"

"Yes, coach!" Mikasa replied coolly, her demeanor calm and collected.

"Coach, it's time," Jean said when he and Connie entered the room together. When his eyes fell upon Mikasa, he felt the breath leave his lungs as his heart clenched up, tying itself in knots. Ever since he met her for the first time at the gym, he'd been utterly infatuated with her, though she didn't seem to have noticed it yet, despite it being painfully obvious to just about every single one of their friends. He squeezed her arm with his hand and said "Good luck out there, Mikasa!" with a slightly trembling voice. The girl nodded at him and left the room, coach Shadis following right behind her.

"There's no point trying to talk to her when she's in the zone like that, lover boy," Connie teased, nudging the blushing boy in the ribs. "Oh, oui oui, oh je t'aime ma chérie, Mikasa ooooh," he cooed, earning himself a slap to the back of the head.

"Shut up, idiot. Get the water and the towels, we've got to be ring-side right now!" Jean said, silently muttering French curses as he left the room, leaving a chuckling Connie to gather the items.

* * *

"_Well, ladies and gentlemen,__ the final day of the preliminary rounds for the Titan Mixed Martial Arts tournament is finally coming to an end!" _the emcee bellowed in a voice that was deep and full of charisma. His words blared out of the speakers surrounding the arena, shaking the air with baritone vibrations that sent the crowd into rapturous applause. "_Oh, what a treat we have for you!" _he continued when the clapping died down. "_First to enter the ring! She's fast, she's skillful, and she's a local favorite! Please give it up for PETRA - THE WASP - RALLLLLLLLL."_

The audience went crazy as the girl's entrance music started playing; Brother Firetribe's grittier and edgier cover of Cheap Trick's 1986 classic : 'Mighty Wings'. The powerful keyboard melody underscored by the palm muted guitar power chords really pumped up the crowd, driving them into a frenzy that one would normally expect at a heavy metal concert. She strutted towards the cage where the fighters were to engage in combat, her vertically-challenged coach easily keeping pace by her side. Coach Rivaille was a legend in the local mixed martial arts scene, and everyone had high hopes for his latest protégé to go far in the sport. Her movements were muted yet brimming with power, each stride full of confidence and grace. Outside the cage, the MMA physician applied petroleum jelly onto her face, a standard practice in the sport. It is done so that punches and strikes to the face will be less likely to cause cutting injuries, thus leading to a longer fight because severe bleeding and lacerations on the face can lead to premature match stoppage. On her back, Petra wore a green robe which she shrugged off before stepping into the ring. She jogged around and waved her hand at the supporters packing the seats, acknowledging their cheers graciously.

"_And her opponent! A newcomer to the MMA scene! She's also from around these parts! Born and raised in Japan, but moved here two years ago! Please give it up for MIKASA - THE BLOODY SCARF - ACKERMANNNN." _

The crowd cheered for Mikasa as well, though her reception was relatively subdued in comparison to what Petra had received. Her entrance song started with a bang, all machine gun bass-beats and harmonized lead guitar work as speed metal band X-Japan's '_Kurenai' _rang through the building, assaulting all the people with a barrage of sound. Mikasa walked into the ring silently, her muscles rippling as she moved towards the battleground. On her back she wore a red robe, and very unusually for an MMA fighter, she also wore a maroon colored scarf around her neck. At the foot of the steps, she crudely dropped her robe to the floor, revealing her finely sculpted physique. Her scarf however, she removed far more carefully. She held it to her heart and closed her eyes, almost as if she hoped that it would give her the strength to fight. She handed it to Jean before walking up the steps, the door of the cage slamming shut behind her the moment she crossed its boundary.

Standing before her opponent, the expression on her face was a solemn one. She was ready, all her muscles taut, like a lioness ready to pounce on its prey. She stared straight in the direction of Petra, who was directly opposite her, but she did not truly look at her. Some would call this arrogance, but Mikasa knew it only as pure focus. The referee stepped between the two combatants.

"Ladies, I want a good, clean fight. Listen to my commands at all times, defend yourselves at all times. Touch gloves and go back to your corner."

The two fighters parted from the center of the cage, all eyes in the room resting on them as they walked to the edges of the ring. The next time they met, it would be in the glorious fury of combat. The tension was palpable, all breaths held and all noise replaced by the silence of anticipation.

"Are you ready?" the referee asked Petra, pointing towards her. When she nodded, he turned towards Mikasa. "Are you ready?" he asked her. She nodded as well.

"Then let's go to war!" he yelled, starting the fight. Immediately, the two girls moved forward and clashed in the center of the ring in a flurry of quick strikes and punches. Mikasa kept her guard high, absorbing Petra's attacks and responding with quick jabs of her own. She knew that the smaller girl would attempt to engage her in a ground battle, using her superior grappling technique and Brazilian jiu-jitsu background to force her into submission, so Mikasa stayed defensive, circling her opponent and dodging her strikes to the best of her ability.

"She's shooting for your legs! Keep it low!" Jean screamed by the ringside, struggling to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Of course, Mikasa knew that already. She'd gone over it with Coach Shadis before the match, when they were analyzing Petra's strengths and weaknesses while formulating a strategy for the fight. Petra was quicker than her, that much was certain, but Mikasa had a reach advantage, having greater stature and longer arms than Rivaille's student.

Before the first round was over, Petra had landed a greater number of punches and kicks, testing her opponent's endurance to the fullest. Mikasa, on the other hand, bided her time, patiently counterattacking with accurate jabs to the face whenever the opportunity presented itself.

When the bell rang, the two of them walked over to their respective corners and seated themselves as their cutmen treated their wounds and they received advice and motivation from their coaches.

"You're doing okay out there, Ackermann, but okay is not enough!" Shadis said harshly as he wiped the sweat off her face with a towel. "You're not going to just 'okay' your way into the biggest MMA tournament in the region! End this, or go home!"

Jean lifted a bottle of water to Mikasa's mouth, pouring the cool liquid down her throat. "Small sips, Mikasa. Small sips."

When the battle resumed, there was a new fire in Mikasa's eyes. Being reminded of her goal seemed to have given her greater urgency, her strikes and kicks landing with greater power and ferocity on Petra's body.

_Fight! If you don't fight, you don't stand a single chance to win!_

Unbidden, the words that had once given her the strength to live on now gave her the power to claim her victory. "Tatakai!" she yelled suddenly in the middle of the match, surprising those who could hear it over the din, though none of them understood what the word meant. Petra saw this as a momentary lapse concentration from the girl, immediately ducking below her guard and attempting to spear her to the ground. Mikasa was ready though. In fact, this was the moment she was waiting for. She clenched her toes tightly, firmly standing her ground and absorbing the impact from her opponent's attempted tackle. Wrapping her arms around Petra's waist, Mikasa lifted the girl up with all her strength, holding her upside down above the ground. A veritable wall of sound engulfed the arena when she locked her opponent's head between her legs in the prelude to the devastating move that would end the fight. With all the strength that she could muster, Mikasa slammed Petra's head into the floor in a vicious piledriver, knocking her out cold instantly. The referee quickly slid over the canvas and pushed the triumphant fighter aside, preventing her from continuing to pummel her unconscious foe. The bell rang, signalling the end of the match. The audience cheered madly for her, won over by her underdog's victory. Jean and Connie ran into the ring, offering their congratulations. This was it. She had qualified for the knockout rounds.

"That was amazing!" Jean complimented, his eyes positively sparkling with admiration.

"Yeah! Damn, Mikasa, remind me never to piss you off!" Connie chimed, handing the girl a wet towel to wipe her skin with.

"Thank you. Jean, where's my scarf?" she asked between labored breaths.

"Oh, here!" he said, handing her the maroon-colored fabric. "I can't believe I've never asked till now, but, what is it with you and this scarf, anyway? You're always wearing it!"

"It's nothing," Mikasa answered, her face turning slightly red as she held the scarf in her hands. Feeling its softness, she remembered the warmth it had given her on a lonely winter night, two years ago to this day. "Just a memento."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to go grab a few drinks to celebrate your victory?" Jean asked Mikasa when they were outside the building. It was getting very late and all the spectators had left an hour ago.

"Yeah, a victory like that deserves a few pints!" Connie said.

"Thanks guys, but no. Not tonight. I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Alright! I'll hold you to it!" Jean said happily. "Time to go home, then!"

"No, you go on ahead. I've got something to do first," Mikasa said, a thin smile spreading across her face. She lived with her aunt and uncle in an apartment downtown, and Jean's house was nearby, so normally she would have walked home with him, but not this night. She looked again at the watch on her wrist, checking the date displayed on its screen. _4__th of August._

"What? It's really late, you know? What is it that you've got to do at this time of night?" Jean asked, thinly concealed disappointment dripping from his words.

"Ah, leave the girl be. She can handle herself," Connie said, chuckling as he poked Jean in the ribs. "I'm off! See you guys tomorrow!" Waving goodbye to his two friends, the boy walked away, leaving the two of them alone.

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"Thanks for the concern," Mikasa said, "but I'll be fine. I'd better go now. See you tomorrow, Jean!" The girl smiled warmly at her friend and pulled her scarf tighter around her face to ward off the cold before heading off into the night. With her gym bag slung over her shoulder, she weaved her way through the streets and alleyways, a silent traveler in a sleeping town. Her footsteps echoed loudly off the pavement as she walked, her muscles sore and aching from the beating she'd taken earlier. Passing by closed shops and lonely street lamps along the way, she couldn't help but appreciate the cool quietness of the town late at night, a stark contrast to the deafening roars of the spectators in the arena. She knew that she was nearing her destination when the soothing sound of gently flowing water reached her ears on the wings of a cold winter wind. Looking up, Mikasa saw the bridge where two years ago she had gone to find death, but instead, found life.

Just like the year before this one, she stood alone at the bridge, braving the cold to indulge her foolish hope to see the boy with the guitar again. Straddling the river, the bridge connected the two sides of town, like a portal between two worlds. Sometimes, Mikasa wondered if the boy was from another world after all, so impossible it seemed for her to find him. Thanks to his kindness, she managed to move on with her life, and she was eternally grateful for that. She'd never forgotten him, the scarf that he'd given her a constant reminder of that beautiful memory. She wanted to thank him, if only she could find him again. She wanted to show him how strong she had become. How much she continued to fight to live each and every day.

But she was weary. Her hopes grew dimmer with each passing hour, and when she finally gave up on waiting for him, she left the bridge, sighing as she wondered if she should come here again next year. The moon was hidden behind the clouds tonight, and the stars were absent from the sky. In the darkness, she didn't see the figure hiding behind one of the trees near the bridge, watching her as she went.

* * *

"It's her," Eren muttered under his breath when he saw Mikasa. It was hard to see her face in the dark, but as she passed under the yellow light of a street lamp he saw the scarf and knew that it was his. There was no mistaking it. His heart raced at a million miles an hour, and the thoughts in his mind were ten times that. Caught between running after her and forgetting all about her, Eren stood frozen to the spot, a mixture of fear and happiness keeping him in a state of confusion.

_What's the point of meeting her again?_ he thought, gripping the tree bark as he saw her walk further and further away. _It's not like I can have a normal relationship with her anyway. It's good enough to know that she's still alive, right?_

Eren turned his back on her and started to walk away, still silently debating with himself on the right course of action. _But why did she stand at the bridge for so long? Was she thinking about committing suicide again? And she's still wearing my scarf after so long?_

It would have been easy to just run away and continue living his horribly lonely life, never taking any chances or risks. Just thinking about it made him feel stupid. He remembered every single word that he said to Mikasa that night. Right now, he was going against every single one of them. He was being a coward. How ironic. But he couldn't bring himself to go after her. It was just way too scary. When he crossed the bridge, he stopped at the exact spot where she had been standing for hours. Noticing a piece of paper stuck to the railing, he picked it up and read its contents.

'_Thank you,'_ were the words that were scribbled on it. Mikasa's handwriting was nice, but the ink became blotched and the words unintelligible when he let the paper drop into the river below as he immediately started running after her, not even pausing to think for a moment. Because thinking breeds fear and unreasonable doubt. Right now, all he knew was what he felt. He had to see her.

By the time he started chasing after her, she was already out of sight. Sprinting in the general direction that he saw her heading towards, Eren ran as fast as he could, the guitar slung over his shoulder slapping painfully against his back as he desperately scanned his surroundings for any sign of her.

_Damn it. How am I going to find her now?_

He ran and he ran, panting heavily and sweating profusely as he continued the chase. He ran even though he didn't really know where he was going. He just knew that if he stopped searching now, he would never run again. He would never try to break free from his chains again. In the back of his mind, he was worried that he wouldn't get back home in time to avoid the sunrise, so close it was to twilight, but for once in his life, he feared returning to the darkness far more than he did dying in the light.

As he turned into an alleyway, he ran into an outstretched armed that knocked him to the ground, winding him and replacing his vision with stars. He landed on his guitar, the neck and strings of the instrument snapping with a terrible crack and a series of metallic _twangs_.

"Why are you following me?"

Dazed, Eren shook his head and tried to regain his bearings.

"What the Hell man? Who the Hell just clotheslines someone like that? You trying to kill me?" he yelled, feeling the heat of anger rise to his face. When he looked up to see his assailant, they both let out a simultaneous gasp.

"It's you!" Mikasa said, disbelief etched onto her face.

"You- you're Mikasa, aren't you?"

"Ye- yeah. Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that!" She offered him her hand and pulled him to his feet, her face as red as a beet root. "I-" She struggled to find any words to say.

Eren gulped, unable to summon a response as well. Suddenly remembering how he had landed, he quickly removed his guitar from his back and inspected the damage. His face was ghostly pale when he saw its sorry condition. "Oh no," he whispered, gingerly touching the smashed instrument. He almost cried.

"I didn't mean for that to happen!" Mikasa said, utterly mortified. "I'll buy you a new one! Promise! Um-"

He looked up from the corpse of his beloved guitar and met her eyes with his own.

"Well, I still don't know your name," she continued, her face so hot that she could have sworn that steam was billowing out of her ears.

"I'm Eren," he said, forgetting about his guitar for the moment. "I- I've wanted to see you."

"Really? Me too! Oh, that's right!" She removed the scarf from around her neck and handed it to him. "It's yours. Thank you so much for it. I've wanted to give it back to you, but I didn't know your name, or where to look for you."

"Don't you like it?"

"Of course I like it!" she said. "I love it!"

Eren smiled at her. "Then keep it. I've gotten used to not wearing a scarf anyway."

"No, I can't! You said that your mother made it for you, right? I can't just keep it if it's so important to you!"

"Don't worry about it," he urged, his gaze strong and firm. Mikasa had almost forgotten how beautiful his eyes were, so green and fierce. The eyes of a boy that would brook no argument.

"Okay. Thanks, Eren," she said, his name tasting sweet as honey on her tongue. _Eren. Eren. Eren. His name is Eren._

Silence resumed.

They both made to speak at the same time, then seeing that the other wanted to say something, both stopped in the same instant as well.

After another short pause, Mikasa finally continued the conversation.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Startled by the straight-forwardness of her question, Eren found himself retreating into his defensive shell. "Why?" he asked, irrational trepidation in his voice.

"Well, I have to buy you a new guitar, right?"

"Um. I guess you could say that I'm free."

"What kind of answer is that?" Mikasa chuckled. "How about in the evening?"

Her question was like a gunshot to the chest, reminding him of the difference between him and her. "I'm... busy in the evening."

"Oh, then what about at night? I mean, music shops probably don't open so late, but if we try before 10 maybe we can find one? I train at the gym in the afternoon, so I'm only free from evening till night time."

It was a few awkward moments before Eren could decide what to answer her. Was it worth the risk? Should he really try to find the happiness that he was so sure he would never have? Seeing her beautiful grey eyes and tender smile, so warm and comforting in the darkness of the cold night, he found the courage to overcome his fear.

"O- okay. Tomorrow night. We'll go together."

* * *

**Please give me a review! :D Reviews are a massive source of motivation for me. :)**

**Kurenai means 'crimson' in Japanese.**

**X Japan are an old Japanese speed metal/glam metal band that I love. They're one of the only Japanese bands that I truly respect.**

**'Mighty Wings' is a song originally performed by the American arena rock band 'Cheap Trick' for the movie 'Top Gun'. However, the song I mentioned in this story is actually the cover of the song performed by Finnish glam rock/arena rock band 'Brother Firetribe'. I really prefer their version, and I do love 'Brother Firetribe' in general. One of my favorite guitarists - Emppu Vuorinen - is in it, and I just really dig their throwback to the 80s kind of style when it comes to song-writing and performing, despite being a band that was formed in the 2000s!**


	3. Track 3

**A/N: Welp, writing an AU fic is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Harder in a sense that, it's hard to keep the characters in-character, because let's face it, what is a person, if not a product of his or her experiences, society and environment? What would Eren really be like if he didn't have to contend with Titans murdering his mother? Or if he had a skin disease that makes sunlight lethal to him? (For those who have asked, if he comes into contact with sunlight, he'll get skin cancer. So, no, he's not a vampire, he won't burst into flames. Or sparkle.) What would Mikasa be like if she didn't really have to worry about him running off and getting himself killed by Titans? I'm kind of nit-picky when it comes to keeping characters in-character, so this chapter was a little hard to write. I will try my best to maintain the Mikasa-Eren dynamic from the manga that makes Mikaere so wonderful, so that this doesn't just turn into a love story with characters that are happened to be named 'Mikasa and 'Eren' while not really being about the Mikasa and Eren that we love.**

**For those of my readers who follow Tears of a Titan, I'll try to release chapter 9 within the next week. The plot is thickening and this particular chapter is going to tackle some heavy themes, so I need a longer time to prepare for it. There's a chance that I might wait till after the next chapter of the manga is released before updating, but we shall see. Sorry for breaking the weekly update streak I've had with that fic! :P**

* * *

**Track 3 - Ever Dream**

"What are you looking at, bozo?" Jean said as he approached Connie who was standing by the window.

"Holy crap man, don't just scare me like that!" the boy exclaimed, startled by his friend's sudden appearance. "I'm not looking at anything man. Just- Just admiring the sunset, is all!"

"Sure. Sunset. Not the girl from the other gym that you always gawk at when she sits by the tree to eat dinner." He moved right beside Connie and looked down at the benches that lined the boulevard right below their gym. Sure enough, there was a girl with chestnut brown hair seated on one of them, dinner in hand. "What was her name again? Sally?"

"It's Sasha!" Connie said, his words a little more loud and angry than he intended. "And I don't watch her every day okay! You're making me out to be some creep or something."

"I didn't say you did," Jean replied in a flat tone, but his twitching mouth betrayed his amusement.

"Ugh, shut up. You do the same with Mikasa. Don't you deny it."

"I'm not." He smiled mischievously and winked.

Utterly speechless, Connie raised his hands in surrender and looked back out the window. "She's eating chicken salad today. Her coach must have her on a strict diet."

"She's an MMA fighter like us. Of course she's on a strict diet. Did you expect her to be wolfing down potatoes instead?"

"Hey, what's she doing?" Connie said, pointing out of the window. As Jean watched the boy jam his finger against the glass, he couldn't help but imagine the scene as that of a titanic finger descending upon the poor girl, attempting to squash her into oblivion. Nonetheless, his curiosity was piqued, so he took a gander.

Far below them, Sasha started to act strangely. She continuously looked around, as if she was checking to see if anyone was watching her.

"Oh god, do you think she knows?" Connie quickly ducked underneath the window sill.

"No, Connie, just look!" Jean said, pulling his friend to his feet.

Before their eyes, Sasha plunged a hand into the pocket of her training jacket and produced from it a small item, roughly the size of a closed fist, wrapped in aluminium foil. Her face lit up as she unwrapped it, revealing the golden glory within.

"Is that a... potato?"

"I think that's a potato," Connie whispered.

"Yep, definitely a potato."

Suddenly, the door to Sasha's gym burst open behind her, an angry man dressed in training attire rushing over to her and grabbing her by the collar.

"He'd give Freddie Mercury a run for his money," Jean mused, pointing out the man's majestic moustachio.

Blindsided by her coach's sudden appearance, Sasha dropped the potato onto the floor. The two boys watching them could have sworn that they heard a sharp yelp from the girl as the spud hit the ground. The coach dragged her back into the gym, leaving the sad potato alone on the floor for a lucky rat that happened to be passing by.

Dumbfounded, the two boys stood frozen to the spot, unable to think of how to react to what they had just seen.

"Break over?" Jean asked, a cold sweat forming on his brow.

Sasha suddenly kicked the door open and ran towards the potato, a desperate last dash that was thwarted by the speedy intervention of her coach.

"Yep, break over," Connie said, his head in his hands as he sped off.

Walking back to the training area, Jean spied Mikasa watching two fighters spar in the ring. "Yo, Mikasa. Why'd you even show up today? That match you had last night was intense. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Oh, Jean," she replied when she saw him. "I was getting restless at home."

"Can't stay away from the ring, huh? Gotta admire that fire in your belly!"

"Yeah," Mikasa said absent-mindedly, not bothering to explain to him the real reason she was feeling restless that day. Her eyes constantly darted to the clock hanging on the wall above the gym's logo, almost as if she could will it to move faster if she constantly gave it a death glare.

"Care to help me with my ladder kicks?" Jean grinned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I'll go get the kicking shield." Once she had the equipment strapped to her arms, the both of them walked over to an empty part of the training area and started the drill.

"Let's do up to ten kicks," Jean said, kicking the shield as hard as he could once she signaled that she was ready. Mikasa didn't even flinch as she absorbed his blows. He proceeded to deliver kicks in an increasing progression, first one kick, then two kicks, then three, all the way up to ten. His muscles positively burned from the exertion, but he wasn't going to let up now, especially not in front of Mikasa. Gritting his teeth, he began the reverse progression of the drill, starting with ten kicks, and going all the way back to one. All the while, the girl never stopped sneaking peeks at the clock, her mind wandering ever further the closer it got to 8 p.m. The moment the hour hand struck the number, Mikasa pulled away excitedly, just as Jean was midway through his final kick. His foot connecting with nothing but air, he lost his balance and performed an awkward pirouette before falling into a heap on the ground.

"Sorry!" Mikasa said, helping him to his feet. "I've got to go get ready!" Without saying another word, she ran off to the locker rooms, leaving Jean dumbstruck for the second time that day.

"Woah, didn't know you were so excited for the drinking session tonight!" he said when she returned. She was wearing a long, flowing blue dress, a light cream colored blouse, and of course, the maroon colored scarf that she would always wear whenever she had the chance. Being so used to seeing Mikasa in her training and fighting gear all the time, he sometimes forgot that she could still look very feminine when she wanted to. Seeing her dressed the way she was now, Jean could feel his legs start to turn to jelly and his heart start to melt.

"Oh no, I forgot about that!" Mikasa said, a sheepish grin on her face. "Can we do a rain check?"

"What? Rain check?" Jean stammered, the words she said feeling like an arrow through his chest.

"Um, yeah, I'm busy tonight, actually. It's alright, Jean. We'll do it one of these days, okay? I've

got to go now! Bye!" She quickly waved goodbye to him before leaving the gym in a hurry.

_What in the world could she be up to,_ he thought as the door slammed shut behind , Jean dragged himself to the window to watch her as she left. Looking out of the gym, he noticed some boy loitering around the benches, a pair of earphones stuck into his ears. He didn't think much of it at the time. That is, not until he saw Mikasa start to walk towards him.

_No, it couldn't be. She's just gonna walk right by him. Yes, that's what she'll do._

"What are you looking at now?" Connie asked, coming over to see what he was doing.

"Quiet!" Jean whispered, never taking his eyes off Mikasa. Every step she took, his heart felt like it plunged deeper and deeper down his chest cavity, and he felt like his throat was clogging up.

Much to his disappointment, Mikasa met up with the boy after all. The smile on her face when she started talking to him was so wide and bright that they could see it all the way from where they were standing.

"Wow, I've never seen her smile like that. Who's the dude?" Connie commented, driving another stake into Jean's poor heart. In response, the taller boy wiped his hand on his snickering friend's back, inciting a surprised yell from him.

"What the hell did you just wipe on my back?"

"My faith in humanity."

* * *

Eren sat alone on the bench, his earphones blaring out symphonic metal music at high volume. It was his favorite genre of music, the perfect harmony of the raw power and emotion of heavy metal and the arrogant grandeur of orchestral arrangements really appealing to him on a lot of levels. In a way, it showed that two seemingly opposite elements can be deceptively compatible, something that he always hoped would be true for him and his life as well. If only night and day could somehow become one.

When he saw Mikasa approach him, he shot straight up to attention, almost as if she was an army officer and he was her subordinate. "Hey!" he stammered, completely paralyzed by the beaming smile on her face. He could see her lips move, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. Realizing that he'd forgotten to take his earphones off, he quickly paused the song that was currently playing and pulled the listening apparatus out.

"Eren," Mikasa said, "nice to see that you're a punctual guy."

"Um, yeah! I'm very punctual!" he replied awkwardly, his inexperience with girls showing immediately. "Err...let's go then?"

"Yeah, sure! Do you have any shops in mind?"

"Let's go to the Whitman boulevard. That's where I usually get my music stuff," Eren said more quickly than he realized. Without even waiting for Mikasa, he started walking off, forcing her to jog a little to catch up to him. "Wait a minute, Eren! What's with the rush?" she asked when she came up beside him.

"Nothing! I'm sorry, am I going too fast? I'll slow down. I mean. Yeah, I'll walk slower. Come on, the boulevard is this way." Together, they walked out of boulevard that Mikasa's gym was in, crossing a few streets before they finally reached Whitman boulevard. Throughout the journey, Eren didn't speak to her at all, much to her disappointment. She could feel his tenseness and she wanted to help break the ice, but she herself found it hard to dispel the awkwardness. A sigh escaped her lips when she thought that the night might end in an anti-climax.

"The shop is just around the corner," Eren said, mistaking her sigh for restlessness. "Sorry we had to walk so far."

"No, it's nothing," she replied as they turned the corner to arrive at their destination. The shop was sandwiched between two other stores, one a hobby shop and the other one a book store. Above the worn oak door of the music shop was a sign that said 'Arlett Music', the sheen of its paint long gone, weathered by age. Eren pushed the door open, the bell above it ringing as they entered the shop.

The inside of the shop was bathed in a warm yellow light, cast by some old light bulbs hanging down from the unusually high ceiling. The room was cramped, every available space taken up by all sorts of musical instruments and equipment, from guitars and drums to gigantic amplifiers that seemed far too large to have fit through the door. Seated behind a glass case that displayed guitar pedals of various sizes and colors, a short boy with blonde hair looked up at the newcomers.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," he said, standing up to greet his regular customer. "How have you been, Eren?"

"Hey Armin! I'm good, thanks. I'm looking for a new guitar."

"Oh, what happened to your old one?"

"It...broke."

"Actually, I kinda broke it. Not on purpose though!" Mikasa extended a hand to Armin. "I'm Mikasa, nice to meet you!"

The young boy looked at her hand for a few seconds, as if he was unsure of what to do, before finally grabbing it and shaking it firmly. "Nice to meet you too!"

"I'll just take a look at the guitars then." Eren walked over to a rack filled with many guitars of different shapes and sizes and started trying them out, leaving the two new acquaintances alone.

"So, how do you know Eren?" Armin asked, the sound of a guitar being played in the background.

"Oh, well, technically I knew him from two years ago, but-" She sighed. "-it's a long story."

"Hm. I see you're wearing his scarf. I was wondering why he stopped wearing it. I guess he must like you a lot to have given it to you."

"Maybe," Mikasa muttered, stealing a sideways glance at Eren.

"Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, really!" She paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell this person she'd only just met what she was thinking. "Well... he's a little awkward, isn't he? Or shy? He's been acting a little stiff."

"You've gotta forgive him for that. He's not really that used to people. You see, he's-"

"Armin! Hey, I think I want this one!" Eren said, interrupting his friend's words. In his hands, he held a pearl white acoustic guitar. The surface of the wood was slick and glossy, shining brightly as it reflected the light in the room. "It sounds great."

"Alright, I'll write it up for you." Armin took the guitar and walked over to the counter, forgetting about what he was telling Mikasa.

Putting her hand inside her pocket, Mikasa pulled out her wallet, but Eren stopped her.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I'll pay for it myself."

"But I broke your guitar! I've got to make it up to you somehow!"

"You don't have to." Eren's voice trembled slightly, and he blushed when their eyes met briefly. "I'll go pay now."

When all was said and done, the two of them stood outside the shop, unsure of what to do next.

"So, what now?" Eren asked, his brand new guitar slung across his back.

Mikasa looked dejectedly at him, utterly disappointed in how the night had progressed. "I guess I should go now. Unless you have any ideas?"

"I think... I think you should go. There's nothing else to do."

She sighed. "Okay. Goodbye, Eren." She pulled the scarf tighter around her face and walked away, never stopping to look back. Watching her go, Eren felt just as disappointed as she did, if not worse. He felt like he'd just screwed up something special. But he really didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how to get to know her, even though he really wanted to. The only thing he knew was music.

_Music._

"Mikasa! Wait!"

She spun around so fast that it almost seemed like she had been preparing for him to call her. Walking right back up to him, she said "What's up?"

Eren gulped and shook his head to try and chase away his nerves. He took a deep breath. "_Would you do it with me?_" he said.

"What are you talking about?" Mikasa asked, completely caught off guard by his strange words.

Eren paused for a second. And then, he started to sing the words instead.

"_Would you do it with me? Heal the scars and change the stars? Would you do it for me? Turn loose the heaven within. I'd take you away. Cast away, on a lonely day. Bosom for a teary cheek; my song can but borrow your grace."_

Mikasa stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. "That was very nice. You have a very nice singing voice."

"Thanks," Eren said. "Do you want to hear me sing more?"

Mikasa made a show of checking the time on her watch, pretending that it wasn't something that she really wanted with all her heart. "Well, I guess I can always go home later." She chuckled lightly, looking down at her feet to try and hide the happy grin on her face. "Okay, I'll listen to you sing!"

* * *

"Bravo! Sugoi, ne!" Mikasa clapped her hands excitedly, her laughter like sweet music to Eren's ears. He'd just finished playing yet another song for her, and with each passing moment he grew more and more confident in himself. This was his element, and she was loving it.

"What does that mean? What you said."

"It means you're awesome!"

"Thanks!" He put the guitar down, leaning it against the bench that they were seated on. It was quite late now, and there was nobody in the boulevard besides them. The shops were all closed, and their laughter and music echoed hauntingly through the streets.

"Sorry if I'm not good at... talking," Eren said, resting his hands on the back of his head and leaning back on the bench. "I've never really been good with people."

"It's okay. You can be yourself around me," Mikasa replied. "Why don't we start over?"

"Start over?"

"Yeah. Okay, like this." She sat up straight and faced him before clearing her throat. "Hi! I'm Mikasa Ackermann. I was born and raised in Japan, but I moved here two years ago. Now I live with my uncle and aunt over on East side. Right now, I work and train at the Shadis MMA gym on the Rose boulevard and my current goal is to win the Titan MMA tournament!"

"Oh, wow. Okay, well, I'm Eren Jaeger. I live alone and I love music. I play at pubs and bistros and I busk for money. One day, I'm going to release my own album. Is that good enough?"

"Yes, it is! I think that's a great ambition."

"It's not my only dream, but yeah, I really want it to happen. There are some dreams that can't be realized," he said, looking at his skin on the back of his hand with a pained expression on his face, "but this one, I think I can do."

"I really hope that you can." Mikasa leaned back as well, looking up at the night sky. "Hey, thanks."

"For what?"

"For that night." She reached a hand for her scarf, feeling the fabric with her fingers. "You did more for me than you can imagine. I've never forgotten it. Or you."

Eren closed his eyes and smiled. "_Heal the scars and change the stars,"_ he sang, causing her to laugh.

"Are you going to talk half the time in song lyrics?" she said with a chuckle, picking up the guitar from beside the bench. She placed it in her lap and started pulling randomly on the strings.

"Well, if they can convey what I want to say, then why not?" Eren said. "I've always been more at home with music anyway. It's what keeps me alive, you know? _Sing what you can't say._" He suddenly turned to face her. "Hey, do you have a music player or something?"

"Yeah, I use my phone."

"Give it to me."

Mikasa fished her phone out of her pocket and handed it over. "What are you doing?"

"Just seeing what kind of music you listen to," he mumbled, engrossed in his browsing of her phone's music library. "A lot of Japanese music, huh? Hm. Oh no, you listen to this band? Ugh, not very good. What, this singer too? Good lord, you really need to listen to something else."

"Hey, don't be such a stuck up hipster, Eren. I like that music!"

That seemed to snap him out of his trance. Looking up from the phone, he apologized to her. "Ah, sorry. I mean, you can listen to what you want. I didn't mean to be rude. That's just bad music, is all."

"You're doing it again!"

Eren returned the phone to her and stared at his feet.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not mad," Mikasa said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I think it's kind of endearing in a way that you're so black and white about it. It means you're firm with your beliefs."

"Black and white?"

"Yeah. Like, it's either good or bad. There is no middle ground."

"I found a middle ground when I first saw you on that bridge though."

"What do you mean?"

Eren took the guitar from her and started strumming it absently, not needing to look at the fretboard to perform chord changes. "I don't think that people who commit suicide or want to commit suicide deserve pity," he said. "Or at least, that's what I used to be like. People who commit crimes deserve no forgiveness. People who won't help themselves and go around wasting their lives away deserve no sympathy.

"But when I saw you that night, I realized that things aren't that simple after all. I didn't want you to die. I wanted you to stop crying." He paused for a moment. "What really happened to make you want to take your own life?"

"My...my parents were killed right in front of my eyes by robbers. We'd only just moved here, and I didn't know anyone around these parts. I was so lonely. I stayed in my room in my uncle's house for weeks. I didn't want to see anyone, or do anything. My room was like a cage that I locked myself in. And then I couldn't take it anymore."

"Maybe we're a bit more alike than I thought," Eren said.

"How so?"

"I don't know. I just think we are."

"Well, regardless, you saved my life that night, Eren," she said.

"I didn't do much," he replied. "I just happened to pass by the right place at the right time, that's all."

"Sometimes, that's all it takes to create something special," Mikasa said. She got to her feet and stretched her body before spinning around to face him. "It's a cruel world we live in, Eren. Cruel, but beautiful."

The sky started to brighten above them, not truly the beginning of sunrise, but an ambient reminder of its imminent arrival. It was still dark out, but ever so slowly, the colors of the world started to return as the blackness turned lighter and lighter as time went by.

"Hey, I've got to go," Eren said, his words heavy with reluctance. "I need to be home before sunrise."

"Okay," Mikasa replied, a little disappointed herself. "Oh, this reminds me of that night we first met. Why were you in such a hurry to leave?"

Eren was going to answer her truthfully, but then he stopped himself. He didn't want to tell her about his condition. When people learned of his disease, they tended to start treating him as if he were made of glass, tip-toeing around him and going out of their way to be nice to him. He didn't like that at all. He wanted to be treated like a normal boy, especially by Mikasa, of all people. "I just... I promised to meet a friend that morning, and I was running late," he lied, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"Hm. Well, if you didn't have to do that then we would have gotten to know each other a lot sooner!" She offered him her hand. "So, shall we leave then?"

Eren put his hand in hers, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

"Say, Eren. Can I have your number?" she asked, handing him her phone again.

"Um, of course!" he said, typing his number into her phone. "Alright, done."

"Yay, I got a famous singer's number!" Mikasa joked, putting her phone back into her pocket. "You'd better pick up when I call you, okay? I know that you got a new guitar and all now, but we can still spend time together right?"

Eren blushed violently, and upon closer inspection, he could see that Mikasa was the same. "Definitely! Just give me a call when you want to!"

"Promise?" She offered him an outstretched pinky finger.

Eren locked his pinky finger with hers. "Promise," he said, smiling happily at her.

* * *

**Ever dream is one of my favorite songs from my favorite band of all time : Nightwish! They are a symphonic metal band and they are a massive creative influence on me. Their keyboardist and song-writer - Tuomas Holopainen - is without a doubt a musical genius. His lyrics are amazing. Nightwish never ceases to inspire me! Don't be surprised if there are a few more Nightwish song chapters in this fic. :P**** If you're interested in checking out 'Ever Dream', I do recommend you listen to their 'End of an Era' live concert version of the song. They're one of those bands that sound even better live than on the album.  
**

**Anyway, please drop a review for me. :D I love reviews! Thanks a lot! :)  
**


	4. Track 4

**A/N: Totally forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but many thanks to Ryvius for providing me with information about MMA! Much appreciated! **

* * *

**Track 4 - Three Rounds and a Sound**

The doors of the cramped elevator slid open with a large amount of effort, the metallic screech that was produced from the less than smooth process sending a chill down Hannes' spine. Getting out of the contraption as quickly as he could, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief once he felt the security of solid, unyielding floor beneath his feet. Looking back, he felt sorry for the poor sod that it was going to transport next. He could have sworn that one day its cables were just going to snap without warning and drop whoever was unlucky enough to be inside it to an unceremonious death.

"The things I put up with in this shithole," he muttered as he pulled a cigarette box out of his shirt pocket. It felt disappointingly light in his hand, and as he lifted it to his face and took a peek inside, he was disappointed to discover that it was empty. "Crap." He carelessly tossed the empty box onto the floor and started walking towards his apartment. Passing by one of the open sections of the hallway, the glare of sunlight stung his eyes, making him flinch. He was returning from work early today, having been sent home by the site foreman for showing up in an inebriated state. _Guess I really overdid it this time,_ he thought, fishing his house keys out of his pocket. _Should count myself lucky that he didn't just straight up fire my ass._

Putting his keys into the lock, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard muffled laughter coming from the apartment opposite his own. Startled by what it implied, Hannes slinked over and gently pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen to what was happening inside. He strained to make out the words that were being said, but everything was unclear and muted. A passing stranger stared at him. "What are you looking at?" Hannes said with a scowl, making the passerby hurry away from the scene. Satisfied that he was alone once again, he returned to his attempt at eavesdropping.

When he still couldn't decipher whatever dialogue was going on inside the room, Hannes finally let his curiosity - and concern - get the better of him. "Eren? Is something wrong?" he asked, knocking three times on the door. He could hear the talking from inside the room stop. "What are you doing up in the afternoon? Eren?" he said again, rapping his knuckles against the door more firmly this time.

A click could be heard, and then the sound of the chain lock being slid out of its track as the door was unlocked. "Hey, Mr. Hannes," Eren said, pushing the door half open and peeking out.

"What are you doing up so early, boy?" Hannes tried to look inside the apartment, but the boy made it a point to try and block as much of the view as he could with his body. Suspicious behaviour indeed. "You've got eyes like a bloody panda! Haven't you been sleeping?"

"Just had a rough night. Couldn't get to sleep in the morning. Thanks for the concern," Eren replied hastily.

"Are you sure?" Hannes pressed, still shifting around to try and look inside.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!"

"Is there anyone in there?" the older man yelled into the room, ignoring the boy. "Were you talking with someone?" he then asked directly.

"No, there's-" Eren started to say, but he was interrupted by a feminine voice that came from behind him.

"_Eren, come back to bed!" _ the voice said.

The hairs on the back of Eren's neck stood up so fast that they threatened to rip right out of his skin, and his eyes widened in complete and utter horror. His face instantly turned a deeper shade of red than Hannes could ever hope to achieve on even his most drunken nights.

"What wa-"

"OKAYTHANKYOUGOODBYE" Eren yelled incoherently, slamming the door shut in the exact same moment, almost ripping it off its hinges. Hannes stood in the hallway, stunned. It took a few more moments for him to finally snap out of his stupor.

"Wow," was all he could say as he turned on his heel to enter his own home.

* * *

Leaning against the inside of the door, Eren felt like he had just run a marathon, so drenched he was in his own sweat. He was panting heavily, and the expression on his face was one of terror. As he stood there silently, still struggling to come to terms with what had just happened, hysterical laughter filled the room.

"Why the Hell did you do that?" he stammered, walking over to the laptop that was placed on the counter. "Oh my god, Mikasa!"

On the laptop screen, a video feed of Mikasa's room could be seen. She was not in the frame though, because she was too busy rolling on the floor laughing. "I'm sorry Eren, I couldn't resist!" she said between heavy bouts of laughter, her voice cracking and her fists pounding on the floor.

"That's it, I'm putting on my earphones. No more open mic for you." He fished his earphones out of his pockets and plugged them into the machine. "Why did you have to say that, of all things?"

Mikasa finally appeared on the screen as she pulled herself up from the floor. She was in tears, and when she tried to say something she just started cracking up again, even snorting a few times.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up!" Eren said, his tone a little harsher than he intended.

Mikasa fought hard to contain herself and finally managed to wrestle back a bit of composure. "I'm sorry, Eren! Hope you aren't mad!" she said, flashing an apologetic smile at him.

"No, it's nothing," he replied as he scratched the back of his head bashfully. "But why did it have to be...that?"

Mikasa scratched her chin and shot her gaze upwards in an exaggerated show of being deep in thought. "Well, maybe it's a secret desire of mine?" she cooed mischievously, winking at him through the camera.

"What? Stop messing with me," Eren stammered, his cheeks blushing violently yet again. "Can we just get on where we left off?"

Still chuckling, Mikasa reached her hand outside of the screen and retrieved a large water tumbler. On its side, her name was written in cute looking block letters, and the background was filled with an array of colors and little drawings.

"Wow, did you make that yourself?"

"Oh, no. A friend gave it to me for my birthday," she replied, uncapping the tumbler and taking a sip out of it. "I don't use it outside though. Just at home."

"Really? That's thoughtful," Eren said, cupping his chin in his hand. "A boy or a girl?"

"Why?" Mikasa smirked.

"Nothing. Just curious."

"His name is Jean," she declared, carefully observing Eren to see what his reaction would be.

The boy squirmed in his seat ever so slightly, averting his gaze from the screen. "Sounds like a French name," he mumbled.

"It is. He's from a town called Calais in France," she said, never taking her eyes off him. "He goes to the same gym as me, and he's pretty good at it."

"Good at what?" Eren blurted out.

Mikasa raised an eyebrow at him. "MMA, of course. What did you think I was talking about?"

"No-nothing. He sounds like a nice guy."

"Well, he is pretty nice. But so are you!"

That genuinely made Eren smile. He took out his journal from his bag and scribbled something inside it.

"What's that? Let me see!" Mikasa raised herself higher in her chair, as if she could somehow peek over his shoulder and see what he was writing.

"Nothing. Just made a note."

"What note?"

"A note," he said.

"A note about me?"

Eren didn't say anything. He quickly put the book aside, taking great care not to let her see any of it.

"I wonder what else you write about me," she mused aloud. "Poems? Or are you making a list of things you like and don't like about me? That's so childish." Mikasa gasped. "Are you writing fanfiction about me? What is it? Show me! Oh my god, are you writing smut? Eren, you naughty boy!"

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Eren held his head in his hands, completely overwhelmed by Mikasa's teasing.

"You're so fun to mess with!" Mikasa snickered. "You'd better show that book to me the next time we meet, or I'll give you a taste of my signature move!"

"Have mercy, please," Eren said.

"Speaking of meeting, when are we gonna hang out again, huh? It's been almost a month!"

"Huh? I don't know."

"Every time I ask you out you're always 'busy' or 'not feeling well'. Are you avoiding me, Eren Jaeger?"

"No, of course not!"

"Really? Then how bout we go out right now? You don't seem to be busy! I'm up for it if you are!"

Eren stared dejectedly at the screen. "I can't."

"Why not? Don't you like me?" Mikasa snapped.

"Of course I like you!" he retorted. "I just can't go out right now!"

There was a muffled _thunk_ that sounded like it came from outside Mikasa's room that Eren heard through his earphones. "What was that?"

Mikasa looked over her shoulder and said "Sounds like someone broke a plate or something. Maybe my uncle."

"Right. Hey, I'm gonna make a cup of coffee. Be right back." He quickly pulled his earphones out and walked over to get his kettle. Filling it up with water from the tap, he quietly hoped that Mikasa would forget about what they were talking about before he left the computer. _You're playing with fire, Eren. She's gonna find out sooner or later,_ he thought as he turned the electric kettle on. Glancing over at the laptop screen, he saw that Mikasa was no longer at her computer. Thinking little of it, he hummed a tune under his breath as he waited for the water to come to a boil.

Piping hot cup of coffee in hand, Eren seated himself in front of his computer once again. He started to worry that Mikasa might be angry with him when he realized that she was still nowhere to be seen. The door to her room was ajar, and when he put his earphones back on, he could hear the sound of distant yelling. "Mikasa? Are you there?" he said, concerned by her sudden disappearance. It was a good twenty minutes before she finally returned, much to his relief. His joy was short lived, however.

"Why are you crying?" he asked when he saw her teary eyes and trembling lips. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked again when no reply was forthcoming from her.

"Eren, can you come out now? Please?" she whispered at length, her eyes always looking down at the ground instead of meeting his.

"I... I can't. WIll you please tell me what's wrong?"

Mikasa looked up. Her hair was dishevelled and obscured part of her face. Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he felt like his neck was being throttled by invisible hands, so hard it was for him to breathe.

"It's okay," she said weakly. "Listen, I've got to go. Bye."

Without saying another word, she ended the video call.

* * *

Hannes stepped out of the elevator once it reached the lobby, a throng of people following close behind him. He nodded politely at the receptionist and looked out of the glass doors of the entrance. It was almost completely dark now, the last vestiges of light slowly draining away as the sea of black slowly flooded the night sky. He noticed a familiar looking person standing in the shadows of one of the cheap looking potted plants that lined the walls, constantly looking outside, as if he was waiting for something.

"Didn't you get any sleep? What are you doing here? It's not even fully dark out yet," he said when he was beside Eren.

"I need to be somewhere as soon as it turns dark," came the reply.

"So urgent, huh? I'm going to get some dinner. Got time to join me?" Hannes offered.

"I can't. You go ahead."

"Well, okay." Hannes walked ahead and pushed the door open. Before exiting the building, a thought occurred to him that made him turn back and ask "Did you use any protection, boy?"

Eren either didn't hear his words or pretended not to have heard them, because he zipped past him and out into the cold darkness of the night without so much as a glance his neighbour's way.

* * *

"Mikasa!" Eren screamed as he ran through the streets of her neighbourhood. She'd told him where she lived before, but he had no idea which house was hers. He kept screaming her name, the sounds of his cries and his frantic footsteps echoing between the houses as he desperately continued his search.

"Shut the fuck up, moron!" somebody yelled at him as he turned a corner. Some of the residents even threw random items at him from their windows as he passed by, constantly calling out Mikasa's name. But Eren didn't care at all. He needed to find her.

"Mikasa!" he cried again. Hearing the sound of a window being pulled up, Eren braced himself to dodge whatever projectile that would be launched at him next. To his relief, instead of something being hurled at his head, it was the sound of Mikasa's voice that reached him. "Eren! Over here!"

Eren came to a stop in front of her house. When he looked up, she was no longer at her window. A few moments later, the front door of the house opened and Mikasa walked up to him, her shoes making a crunching sound as she made her way over the light blanket of snow that covered the lawn. She simply stood and stared at him without saying anything, her calm breaths made visible by the cold, even through the maroon scarf that covered her mouth.

Eren's breaths on the other hand, were heavy and labored, having spent so long running through the neighbourhood in search of her. He pulled his journal out of the bag that was slung across his shoulder and offered it to her. "Don't pull your signature move on me, eh?" he said, smiling warmly at her. He couldn't tell if she was happy or not as she accepted the small book, but the gleam in her eyes hinted to him that it was probably the former. She shifted her weight onto her other leg, allowing the yellow light of one of the street lamps to reveal to Eren the tear stains on her cheeks. He opened his mouth to ask her again what had happened, but she immediately shushed him.

She clutched the book tightly to her chest, making no move to actually read it. Instead, she grabbed Eren's hand and tugged on it, imploring him to follow her lead. As she pulled him along by the hand, Eren kept hoping that she wouldn't feel the immense heat that he must have been emanating, so hot and red he felt at her touch. He didn't even seen where they were going, so fixated he was on the sight of her fingers interweaving with his own. Her grip on him was firm, yet tender, so full of warmth that he completely forgot about the snow and the cold.

When they finally reached their destination, Mikasa let go of Eren's hand, much to his thinly concealed disappointment. It took awhile for him to finally register their surroundings properly. The two of them stood side by side in the town cemetery, surrounded by gravestones of all shapes and sizes. They were somewhere near the east side of the cemetery, near the black, metal fence that surrounded the burial ground. In front of them were two gravestones of a simple design, sticking out of the ground side by side. It was too dark for Eren to make out the words on the tombstones, but he didn't have to.

"Here lies Oliver Ackermann," Mikasa said solemnly, "and here lies Miyuki Ackermann."

Eren stood in silence and watched her.

"I lost my family once," she said after a short pause. "It's not nice."

Eren nodded gently beside her, even though she was not looking at him.

"My uncle... my aunt and my uncle. They've been fighting a lot lately. He has a gambling problem and now he's in so much debt. He wants me to help him. If I win the tourney, I could help him." Mikasa lifted her hands up in front of herself and looked into her palms. "I could help him. But my aunt hates him for this. She thinks that he's using me. And lately, when they fight, they don't just argue anymore. They break things, and they scream, and they yell, and they cry."

Mikasa took a step sideways so that she was closer to Eren, their shoulders rubbing against each other as she entered his personal space. "I don't want to lose my family again."

This time, it was Eren who took Mikasa's hand in his. He lead her out of the cemetery to a bench that was just outside the gates. There was a street lamp there to provide illumination for the two of them as he sat her down and pulled the book out of her hands. He placed it on her lap and flipped it open to a certain page.

* * *

_A halfway spoken _

_heart, caught in the winter night._

_Mikasa, her name._

"I wrote this on the night we first met," Eren said with a chuckle. "Go on, read the others."

Mikasa rubbed the wetness from her eyes and flipped to another page.

* * *

_Think too much; do too little._

_A fool, a mind so fickle._

_Always longing, always fearing,_

_for you my eyes start tearing._

_Think too little; do too much._

_By your side, I am as such._

_Foolish courage, good intentions._

_I hope in your thoughts, my name you mention._

"So many rhymes. Like a kid's poem," she said, lightly jabbing Eren in the ribs as a thin smile found its way back to her face. The next page contained a few haikus, roughly scribbled on in Eren's terrible handwriting.

* * *

_You're not here today._

_The white noise reflects longing._

_My heart on a string._

"Eren, you're so cheesy."

* * *

_I wait for your text,_

_in my room of sounds and thoughts._

_Rain breaks the silence._

"Oh, come on." She was about to read the next haiku, but Eren quickly snatched the book away from her.

"Not that one, it's kind of embarrassing," he said, bashfully, but Mikasa was having none of it. She tussled with him for the book and finally managed to wrest it from his grasp.

"What's the point of writing this if you're not going to let me see?" She asked before returning her attention to the journal.

* * *

_Ma Chérie, my sweet girl_

_How I wish to speak these words_

_to you, oh je t'aime._

"Oh god, you're so cheesy," Mikasa said, closing the book and returning it to Eren. All traces of the sadness she had earlier was gone, completely replaced by an overwhelming happiness that made her seem to glow like a star under the moonlight. "Thanks, Eren," she whispered, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for cheering me up."

"Just keep fighting," he replied, the smile on his face as wide as hers, if not wider. "You'll never win if you stop fighting. I'll fight too, right beside you."

"I think I'll probably be the one fighting, and you'll be there doing a jig."

"Hey! I'm not a bard!"

"Fine, a battle song. You'll be there singing of my heroic feats of valor, and you'll carry my armor, and you'll sing for me when I'm bored, and-"

"I don't think you understand what a bard does," Eren cut in.

"I don't care. I want my bard to do that," Mikasa said, to which Eren had no reply.

They stopped talking for a few moments, instead just enjoying each other's company and the intimacy of their cuddle. After a short while longer, it was Mikasa who finally broke the silence.

"Say, Eren."

"Yeah?"

"Let's go on a date."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review. :)**

**'Three Rounds and a Sound' is an excellent song by indie folk band 'Blind Pilot'! **

**Originally planned to name this chapter 'Your Hand in Mine' after post rock band 'Explosions in the Sky's song of the same name, but it seemed like too obvious of a choice. Hehe. Go listen to this song too. It is amazing. Fully instrumental. Think of it as the alternate title for this chapter! Haha!**

**Till next time. Stay classy, readers!**


	5. Track 5

**A/N: This update is late, I know. I'm sorry. I really am a lazy bastard. Haha. Doesn't help that I've been struggling with trying to keep Eren and Mikasa in character in this story, which isn't easy, cos this is an AU. I've also been worldbuilding/planning for NaNoWriMo. For those of you who do not know, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a wonderful event that occurs annually, always in the month of November. The challenge is to write a novel of minimum 50k words in the short time of one month (Well, you can write fanfiction too, or any other text, as long as it reaches 50k words, but generally people write original novels I think). Which means you'll basically have to be writing every single day. The aim of the event is to help writers overcome one of the biggest challenges that many new writers face : actually writing something. I'm not 100% sure if I'll participate yet, but it certainly is tempting this year. I have an original idea that I really wanna put to paper. Oh yeah, the only prize that you'll get if you complete the challenge is your very own novel, written from scratch. Not many people can boast that. It takes a quantity over quality approach, and I think it is quite fantastic. Don't know if I have the drive to do it though. Well, we'll see. If any of you have participated in NaNoWriMo before, feel free to drop me a PM. I'd love to talk to someone who's had experience with it. **

**For those of my readers who follow Tears of a Titan : I will start work on Chapter 10 A.S.A.P.! Don't worry y'all. I'm not dead. I won't disappear. I'm just lazy/face writer's block sometimes.  
**

**Anyhoo, please enjoy this long overdue chapter. I have a feeling y'all are gonna like it. ;)**

**Advertising : Go check out Losing Control by HighQueen! It is probably the best Mikaere fic out there right now! :) I'm beta-ing for her, so please show some support by checking it out! You won't be disappointed!**

* * *

**Track 5 - The Sun Shines At Night**

A song of rain pounded through the streets that evening. Seated in the middle of the living room - or at least what passed for a living room - in Eren's tiny apartment, the constant pitter patter of the falling water through the closed windows and doors sounded like a muffled heavy metal drumbeat : powerful and incessant.

The digital watch on Mikasa's hand beeped at the turn of the hour, its robotic cry barely audible over the noise coming from the outside.

"It's 10 o' clock," she stated, looking across the small coffee table at Eren who sat with both legs tucked against his chest.

"Damn it. Just my luck. Finally got a date, and then this happens," he mumbled as he tucked his chin in the crook between his knees.

"Well, at least it was a good idea for you to ask me to come up instead of wait for you downstairs. Otherwise, I would've been caught in the rain."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, you've never been on a date before?" Mikasa asked, a sly smile finding its way onto her face.

"Well, no."

"That's strange. I always imagined that a musician guy like you would be up to his neck in girls," she replied, enthusiastically playing air guitar with her hands. "Maybe it's cos you're such a night owl. Not everyone is nocturnal, you know?"

Eren was taken aback by her words. "Does it bother you?"

Mikasa leaned back against the wall, casually tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she observed Eren's features. "Well, I'm not exactly a fan of going out at night," she said, "but I'm okay with it. The time of day doesn't count right? As long as we spend time together."

"That's good to hear," Eren replied with a sheepish grin.

"I'm always dead tired the next day though. Makes gym a killer."

"Sorry about that."

"Like I said, I don't mind." Mikasa got to her feet and started stretching. "What's got you so busy in the daytime though? I mean, you do your music stuff at night, don't you? How do you get any sleep?"

"I'm just not much of a day person," Eren answered. He got to his feet as well and busied himself with the kettle and cups on the counter in an effort to avoid the subject. "I think I'll make some coffee. Looks like we aren't going anywhere tonight."

"Yeah. Guess I'll just head home after the rain stops. Unless you have an umbrella?"

"What? No!" he exclaimed, spinning back to face her. In his haste, he knocked one of the mugs off the counter, adding a sharp punctuation to the song of the rain in the form of shattering ceramic, like cymbals crashing at the end of a composition's first movement. "Ah, damn it!"

"Are you alright?" MIkasa quickly walked over to him, gingerly stepping between the shards of broken mug as she took his hand in hers. Firm yet gentle, her fingers ran across his palm, searching for cuts. "You're so clumsy."

"No, I'm fine. Thanks," he said, though he was in no hurry to pull his hand away.

Mikasa squatted down to pick up the broken pieces of mug. Eren tried to help, but she pushed him away. "No, I'll handle it. Shoo. Go stand over there."

"Come on, I'm a grown man. And it's my house." He squatted down as well and started angrily picking up pieces of the mug. Mikasa glanced at him silently, a thin smile spreading across her face as she watched him pick up the shards with his fingers like a bird pecking at ceramic worms, his movements quick and decisive. He picked up the first worm and put it in his palm. He picked up the second worm and put it in his palm. He picked up the third worm and put it in his palm. The fourth worm however, had teeth.

"Ow!" Eren cried out when he cut his finger - a short, sharp accent that punctuated the sound of rainfall. Mikasa hadn't said a word yet. All she did was sigh, and when he shot her a defiant look, she sighed even harder. She took his hand in hers again, though this time she was much more gentle.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked. A crimson stream of blood flowed out of the wound. "Eren…"

"I'm fine," he said, though he didn't stop her from holding onto his hand. He was looking at the cut when his gaze fell onto her lips, so close to his finger that he could almost feel their softness on his skin. "Are you gonna ki-" he blurted out without thinking.

"What?" Mikasa replied, looking up at him.

"Nothing! I meant the kit. Yeah. The medical kit. It's up there!" Eren pointed at the top of the counter.

"Okay. Hold still." Mikasa chuckled. She got to her feet and took the kit before leading him over to the other side of the room. She opened up the box but was bemused to find that it was practically empty, with only a bottle of antiseptic and some old looking pieces of cotton gauze inside. "What? How do you live on your own, Eren?"

"I've been meaning to refill it. I forgot. Just haven't had to use it for a while."

"Wait, let me check my bag." Mikasa picked her bag from beside the coffee table and ran her hand through its contents. The bag was cloth and medium-sized. Not as feminine or impractical as a typical ladies' handbag, but not as crude as a rucksack. "Ah. Looks like you're in luck." She pulled out a crumpled up adhesive bandage. It was bright pink and had pictures of cartoon kittens dotting its length.

"What? You want me to wear that?" Eren scoffed.

"No arguing," Mikasa said, wrapping the bandage around his cut. The pain was stinging, but Eren lightly bit down on his lip and shrugged it off. "No taking it off. Not even if the whole town laughs at you," she continued. "Seriously Eren, I never knew that you were such a baby."

"Yeah, whatever."

"The rain is letting up. I guess I'll head home then."

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Don't go. We could-"

"It's really late. There isn't really much we can do now. You know how early the restaurants close around here. Let's just do it another time?"

Eren's eyes scanned the room desperately, as if he was hoping that some solution would magically appear in front of him. His pearl white guitar leaned against one of the walls.

"Do you want to go watch me busk?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I go busking in the entertainment district all the time. People stay up really late there. It's a little far from here, but that's okay right?"

"What about your finger? Can you play like that?"

"It's my strumming hand." He lifted his hand up for her to see. "And it's a good thing that it was my middle finger that got cut. Won't need that."

Mikasa started to laugh, prompting a quizzical look from the boy. She walked over to the guitar and picked it up. "Okay, but I want to carry it. Then people on the street will think I look cool!"

"Alright! Let's get going then."

The song of the rain stopped.

* * *

Outside the house, just as Eren was locking the door, they ran into Hannes.

"Oh, who's this?" he asked when he caught sight of Mikasa. He flashed a warm grin at her, which she returned in kind.

"Mr. Hannes! Um. This is Mikasa. Mikasa, this is Mr. Hannes, my neighbour." Eren stammered.

"Oh, so you're his neighbour. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hannes. Eren's told me about you." She afforded him the honor of a low bow, something that he was obviously not accustomed to.

"Woah, no need to do that, Miss." Hannes said quickly, his discomfort evident in his voice. "I'm just an ordinary old man."

"You've been out drinking again, haven't you?" Eren asked when he smelled the alcohol on his neighbour's breath.

"Ah. I did have a few drinks."

Eren looked like he was going to berate him again, but his features softened when he noticed Mikasa looking at him. "Mr. Hannes, you've really got to stop it, you know. You're not young any more. If you're not going to take care of yourself, then who will?"

"I- I guess you're right," Hannes replied. He was somewhat taken aback by Eren's out of character tact. "Well, I really should go in and take a shower. I'm beat."

"Yeah, let's go, Mikasa."

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hannes. Please take care of Eren if you can. This boy is such a baby."

"Mikasa!" Eren whined.

"I'll try my best, Miss," Hannes said with a warm smile. "And I'll ask the same of you. Take care of him, please." He bowed his head to her.

"See you later, old man." Eren said, and then he pulled Mikasa away by her hand. Further down the hallway, he glanced back.

'_Protection!_' Hannes mouthed silently.

Exasperated, Eren waved him off before looking away.

_Never thought I'd see the day when someone could change that stubborn boy. I guess miracles do happen, _Hannes thought to himself as he unlocked the door to his home.

"Damn, I need to get myself a girlfriend," he said aloud.

* * *

"Looks like the rain's letting up," Connie said. "Can I go home now? We've been staked out here for ages."

"No! What kind of bro are you?" Jean peeked out of the corner that they were hiding in. A canopy saved them from being drenched by the rain, but it was still a cold night. He stared at the entrance to the apartment block. "She's been up there way too long. You don't think they're…"

"Who knows? I haven't seen the guy you're talking about, but he's gotta be A grade stuff to woo our very own Mikasa. Even _Monsieur Jean the sexy sexy lovah_ couldn't do it." Connie nudged him playfully in the back. "Who knows what sort of naughty things they could be up to?"

"_Ferme ta guele!_" Jean scolded. He pushed Connie roughly before returning his attention to the entrance. "Look! It's them!"

"That better not have been some old French curse or something. I swear to god, if I never get married or if my children have uneven eyebrows, I'll-"

"It means shut the fuck up. Happy? Now shut it."

Still grumbling, Connie came up next to Jean and joined him in his observation of the couple. "I didn't know that she played guitar!" he said, noting the instrument slung behind Mikasa's back. She and Eren were walking side by side, their fingers intertwined as they made their way towards the bridge. Eren said something, and Mikasa laughed happily, her eyes positively twinkling under the moonlight.

"Wow. I've never seen her so… So happy before." Connie put a hand on Jean's shoulder. "Are you seeing this? What happened to Mikasa the ultimate fighter?"

Jean didn't say a word. All he did was stare hatefully at Eren, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. "We've got to follow them," he whispered.

"What, and torture yourself some more? You into that kind of stuff?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I even hang with you."

"Hey."

"What?"

"Dude." Connie shook Jean roughly by his shoulder.

"What?" Jean yelled unintentionally. He quickly glanced over at Eren and Mikasa, hoping that they hadn't heard him.

"Look!" Connie pointed at the other side of the bridge. A group of people were walking together and making a ruckus, their speech loud and annoying in the quiet of night-time. "They look like trouble, man."

* * *

"So, this is nice." Mikasa gave Eren's hand a firm squeeze.

"Yeah. The knight and her bard. But you're carrying the guitar, so I'm the knight now, right?"

"Nothing wrong with a knight being kind to her servant."

"Kind? Really?"

"Oh. Have a complaint?"

Eren grinned at her. "Well, you could be kinder."

"Kinder? What? I'm carrying your guitar." Mikasa pressed her lips together and glanced over at him. "Or you want more special service?"

They were at the bridge now. Eren noticed the group of people ahead of them and was eyeing them cautiously. Something didn't smell right. He wasn't paying attention to his conversation with Mikasa any more, so he just said "Yeah."

"What? Eren!" Mikasa said, her cheeks turning red. It took her a few moments to notice the group of people. There were five of them, all big and tall. They didn't seem to take any notice of Eren and Mikasa at first, but when they passed them on the bridge, one of the men grabbed Mikasa's shoulder and pulled her back.

"Hey, I know you! You're that MMA fighter!" the man said. "The Bloody Scarf!"

"Hey, hands off!" Eren yelled, slapping his hand aside. He pulled Mikasa back and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't be rude man."

"Oh, is this your boyfriend? Scrawny little kid, isn't he?"

"Can you please just leave us alone? We don't want any trouble," Mikasa said coolly, though the look on her face and the stance that she was in suggested that she was ready to deal with any trouble with extreme prejudice.

"You don't want any trouble, huh? That's grand. You lost me and my boys a lot of money when you thrashed the Wasp in that fight. I'm thinking it's fate that brought us here tonight. Maybe someone up there thinks we have a right to collect."

Just then, Connie and Jean ran onto the scene. "Woah, woah. Hold it there, man. Let's just let bygones be bygones and go on with our lives," Jean said, trying to defuse the situation.

"You brought your entire possy, huh? Pussies, the lot of you. You think we're scared?" Without warning, the man threw a wild haymaker at Mikasa. She barely had any time to react, but years of training and experience had honed her muscles and her mind to a knife's edge. She did not have to think. Her instincts would move her body for her so that she could dodge the blow. The only thing that she was thinking about was how badly she wanted to hurt him.

Jean saw the punch coming, but hesitation stayed his body. Eren however, had none of that. He quickly moved in front of Mikasa and took a glancing blow to his head. He fell backwards into Mikasa's arms, dazed.

"Eren!" Mikasa yelled, her voice full of alarm..

"You fucking asshole!" Eren said through gritted teeth. His vision was still filled with whiteness and stars, but his body moved of its own accord. Without a second thought, he dove into the the hostile group and ignited a brawl.

Mikasa immediately threw the guitar on her back to the ground, a sound of wood and the resonating of open guitar strings filling the air like a chaotic song of battle. She quickly closed the distance between herself and the first man, adding some baritone beats to the song in the form of heavy punches to his body. He put his hands together and swung a hammer blow down at her, but he was far too slow. Deftly moving out of range of his attack before it could connect, Mikasa stepped back in range before he had time to react and delivered a powerful uppercut that immediately dislocated his jaw and knocked him out.

To the side, Jean was trading blows with one of the other thugs. His opponent was strong, but he lacked the technique and endurance that they spent countless hours honing at the gym. And Jean was no stranger to street fights. He ducked under a punch and in the same motion leapt upwards, sending a flying knee right into the thug's skull. Two down.

"You really wanna try me, pipsqueak?" said Connie's opponent.

"Who you calling pipsqueak, asshole?" Connie sidestepped the thug's high kick. One quick jab to his midriff and he was bent over. One strong elbow to the back of his head and he was down on his knees. All of Connie's short statured fury infused into one kick to the head. Three moves, the thug was out for the count.

Eren on the other hand, was getting pummeled. He was not a fighter, but that didn't stop him from attacking his two much larger opponents like a rabid dog. They tried to get hold of him, but he kept moving and jabbing, though his technique left much to be desired. Mikasa rushed forward to help him, but time seemed to slow down for her when a punch from one of the remaining thugs finally connected to Eren's jaw. The force of the blow lifted him off his feet. Off the bridge. And into the river. The final note of the battle song was a loud splash.

"Eren!" Mikasa screamed. She ran over and looked over the bridge's railing. The heavy rain had raised the currents of the river significantly, and what had once been a serene and calm river was now a raging body of water that swept Eren away. Behind her, Jean and Connie faced the two remaining thugs. Not wanting to get their asses handed back to them, the two ruffians wisely turned tail and ran for the hills.

Mikasa grabbed Jean by his shoulders and shook him. "We need to save him! He'll drown!" she said frantically. Her voice shook with fear and she was on the verge of crying. The French boy had never seen her like this before. Neither had Connie. They just stared at her, mouths agape.

"Do something!" she screamed before pushing him away and running off. She turned into a street that ran parallel to the river bank and started sprinting after him.

"Damn it. Come on, what are you waiting for?" Jean said before running after her. Connie started to follow, but stopped when he noticed the guitar still laying on the floor. He quickly picked it up and slung it over his back before making chase.

* * *

Eren didn't know how to swim. He never had the chance to learn, nor did he ever have the need to. Right now, he was afraid. He was scared to death. And he was scared of death. Was this how it was going to end? In a flurry of rage, fists, and a watery grave? The sound of the water rushing all around him was the most horrible music that he had ever heard. Intense. Deafening. Choking. He coughed and sputtered every time he surfaced, his lungs desperately pulling what air they could, but his respite was always short-lived as he was pulled under time and time again.

As he struggled against the current, he swallowed some of the water, the liquid feeling deathly cool against the inside of his throat. He was starting to cry, though he couldn't tell. Water was everywhere after all, so it was all the same to him. He felt his consciousness starting to drift away as his chest started to clench tightly. The song of death was nearing its crescendo. Eren felt an arm wrap around his chest, but it could easily have been a piece of driftwood or just his own imagination. He didn't know which way was up or which way was down anymore. He felt a force push against him, and slowly but surely, he was being pulled against the current. He didn't know that though. He didn't know anything anymore. His vision went black just as he was pulled out of the water.

"Call an ambulance!" his savior said to his two friends on the river bank before kneeling down and putting two hands onto the boy's chest, one on top of the other. He kept his arms straight and pushed down firmly, performing a chest compression. He continued the process calmly, determined to save Eren.

The second man in the group quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed for an ambulance.

"I think you're gonna have to do mouth to mouth on him," the man said to the girl in their group.

"What? Why me?"

"I don't know how, man. Come on, just help me."

"Alright." The girl came up to Eren's body and kneeled down. The man was still performing chest compressions on him. "Move aside." She pushed away and lowered her face to his. She put her hand on his chest to steady herself and was about to put her mouth over his, but he suddenly started coughing and sputtering. He coughed out the water in his lungs and started drawing breath desperately.

"Eren!" Mikasa yelled when she saw him lying on the ground, surrounded by the three people. She doubled her pace and slid right next to him, pushing the big man aside. "Eren! Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," said the girl. "Did you throw your boyfriend into the river cos you were angry, Mikasa?"

Mikasa looked up at the girl. "Annie," she said through gritted teeth. "Reiner. Bertholdt," she continued with far less hostility.

"We called an ambulance. It should arrive soon." Reiner put a comforting hand on Mikasa's shoulder. "He'll be alright."

"Thank you."

"Why don't you wait here with them till the ambulance arrives, Reiner? You don't need us here. Bertholdt, let's go back to the gym."

"I think I'll wait with Reiner. You go on ahead."

"Suit yourself," Annie said before leaving the scene. The moment she was gone, Jean and Connie finally arrived, both of them panting heavily.

"You guys look like you've run two marathons," Reiner said, chuckling. "But Mikasa looks like she just went for a stroll in the park."

"_Ferme ta guele!"_

* * *

When Eren finally came to, they were in the general ward of St. Maria's Hospital. His vision was still blurry and all the sounds that he heard were muffled. He thought he heard someone say "Doctor!" and he heard some footsteps sounding off the smooth floor. It took him awhile to register his surroundings and regain his bearings.

"Eren!" Mikasa said for the umpteenth time that night when she re-entered the room with a doctor. The doctor checked his eyes with a flashlight and his heartbeat with his stethoscope while asking generic medical questions like : "How do you feel? Does your chest hurt?" and "Can you breathe properly?".

"Looks like he'll be fine. He can leave as soon as he feels ready."

"Thank you, doctor," Mikasa said.

"You're welcome." The doctor left the room.

Then Mikasa slapped Eren, stunning him.

"You idiot! You-" She was crying now, and she pressed a hand against his chest. "You idiot!"

"MIkasa, I-"

"Shut up! You reckless idiot!"

Eren pushed himself up onto his elbows. "I was just defending you! Those dogs deserved it!"

"Who are you to defend me? That was probably the first fight you've ever gotten into in your life! I'm a fighter, I can take care of myself! But you almost got yourself killed!"

"I couldn't just stand by and watch you get punched in the face!"

"I was ready for it! He didn't stand a chance against me. Unlike you!"

"Don't treat me like a kid! This is why I won't tell you-" Eren checked himself too late. He let the words slip.

"Tell me what?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Forget about it. Can we go now? I want to go home before sunrise."

"Eren." Mikasa pointed at the window. The blinds were down, but the dull orange glow of dawn could be seen between the slits.

"Shit."

"What is it you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing."

"Eren!"

"Calm down. We're in a hospital."

"You idiot," Mikasa said before seating herself on the chair next to his bed.

"Mikasa, I-"

"Idiot."

"Yes, I'm an idiot."

"Good that you know."

An uneasy silence ensued as the both of them avoided each other's gaze.

Jean walked into the room just then, a cup of coffee in his hand. "MIkasa, I got this for you," he said. Eren looked up at him and their eyes met. "Oh. Hi, I'm Jean. Mikasa's friend," he said with the slightest hint of irritation in his voice.

"I'm Eren."

"Jean, can you leave us for a moment?" Mikasa said, her tone cold and harsh.

"Okay. I'll put your coffee here." He placed the cup on the end table before reluctantly leaving the ward. He stole a glance back before he shut the door, but neither Eren nor Mikasa paid any attention to him.

"Disaster of a first date, huh?" Eren said after a while.

"I deserve as much, Eren," she said, ignoring his words.

"Huh?"

"Tell me what you're hiding. I deserve that much."

"Why would you deserve to know? No one's ever cared to know. And no one cares after they know."

"I'll care. And I'll keep caring."

Eren looked up at her. "Why? Why would you care, then? Is it because you think that I saved you that night? You want to repay me because you think of me as a hero? I'm no hero. I'm not even human."

Mikasa slapped him again. The sound was short and sharp, like that of a cracking whip. Some of the occupants of the other beds craned their necks to see what was going on with these two young people.

"Stop it. Stop saying things that will make me want to leave."

"Then just leave."

"I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because I've lost enough people in my life. I don't want to lose you too!"

"We've only known each other personally for a few months."

Eren felt his heart seize up when she did not reply. Did he finally push her too far? Was she going to just leave him?

_It's better this way. She has no life with me. _

"I just want to be happy," Mikasa said. Her eyes met with Eren's. "Is it so wrong to want to be happy?"

"No, it's not."

"Then don't ask me why. Because I'm happy when I'm with you, Eren. When I'm with you, I feel like I can do anything." She gently caressed his face with her hand. "You taught me to fight Eren. And I know you're fighting now. But please, don't fight alone. You can tell me." Mikasa pressed her forehead against his and ran her fingers tenderly through his hair. That was enough. Eren's walls finally came crashing down. As did his tears.

"I just-"

"Slowly. Take your time," Mikasa whispered.

Eren steeled himself. He took a few moments to collect his thoughts before finally revealing his secret. "I have a disease called _Xeroderma Pigmentosum. _If I'm exposed to sunlight… I'll die."

Mikasa pulled away and looked at him. Her eyes darted around in their sockets as she observed him silently. It was like she was struggling to process what he had just told her. The gravity of it seemed to weigh into her gaze.

_This is it, isn't it? The same old story. She won't want to be with someone like me. Too much hassle._

Eren took a deep breath. "I understand."

"You understand nothing, Eren Jaeger," Mikasa whispered. She moved closer to him, her movements slow but deliberate. He raised a hand to push her away, but she grasped it tightly with her own. She moved in ever closer, Eren's eyes widening when he realized what was happening. Mikasa's lips parted slightly, revealing the pearly white teeth within. He could feel her breath on his face now, hot and steamy. She stopped just inches away from his face, and Eren gulped nervously. She kept staring straight at him with her dull grey eyes. Her lips continued to hover tantalizingly close to his, almost as if she was taunting him. Egging him on.

Her hand still grasped firmly onto his. His heart pounded at a million miles an hour, and when she stroked his palm with her fingers, that speed tripled. That was the only sound that he could hear right now, aside from her rhythmic breathing.

_Fight._

Eren closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers for the first time. Mikasa involuntarily squeezed Eren's hand even more tightly the moment she felt contact. She closed her eyes as he savored her soft, velvety lips. Softer than anything he'd ever known. Their lips danced upon each other, a slow but beautiful waltz against the tempo of their hot, sharp breaths. Eren's inexperience showed at first, his lips showing little movement. But in the spur of the moment, he drew upon all the cheesy, romantic kisses he'd seen in movies over the years and placed his free hand behind her head. He started to caress her lips with her own, countering each of her movements instinctively. His hand made its way down to her back, and he locked both his lips over her lower lip. He pulled away slightly, catching the tip of it with the gentlest of nibbles, inciting a sharp gasp from Mikasa. Eren could feel her lips curl up as she smiled against him. He could taste her smile. It was as sweet as honey.

Their kiss was moist. Passionate. Somewhat clumsy. But it was wonderful. When they finally pulled away from each other and ended their first ever kiss, Mikasa couldn't help but return and peck his lips again and again, creating their second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh kisses.

"Wow," was all Eren could say when they finally stopped. He had the goofiest smile on his face, and his head was red as a beet. Mikasa was much the same.

"Yeah. Wow," she said dreamily.

"So, what now?"

"What now?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing. You're still my bard."

"Nothing?" Eren's heart dropped.

"Well. I guess boyfriends can do bard stuff too," Mikasa said, leaning in to give him a peck yet again.

"Okay. I like the sound of that," Eren said as he stroked her hair.

"Then play me a song, boyfriend." Mikasa leaned forward again.

"What song?"

"I don't know. A song of love."

"And you call me cheesy." Eren chuckled. "Well, what does it sound like?"

"Like this." Mikasa planted her lips firmly over his again.

It was their ninth kiss, and it was brilliant.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please drop a review if you liked it. ;)**

**The song in this chapter is 'The Sun Shines At Night' by indie pop band : 'The Submarines'! They are the epitome of a band for hopeless romantics, and all their songs are unbelievably cheesy and cloyingly sweet, but I love them! They're something of a guilty pleasure of mine. :)  
**

**'Swimming Pool' by them is an alternative title for this chapter. I wanted to use it at first, but 'The Sun Shines At Night' is just way too apt for this fic, don't you think? Check out 'Ivaloo' too. I love that song! :D  
**

**Till next time!  
**


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